City

Aberdeen area guide

Who lives in Aberdeen, how they live, and how it compares on crime, schools and transport.

Council: Aberdeen City
Region: Scotland
Population: 207,646 (2024)

AberdeenCity

At a glance

What Aberdeen is like

Aberdeen is a city in Aberdeen City in Scotland. It is home to about 207,646 people across 99,308 households. 52.8% of households own their home, 20.9% rent privately and 23.8% are in social housing. The largest age group is 20–24, and 54.3% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for Scotland.

Scores

How Aberdeen compares

Headline figures for Aberdeen, set against Scotland as a whole.

AffluenceMore

6.2/ 10

Around the middle. Scored from 1 (most deprived in Scotland) to 10 (least deprived).

CrimeMore

67per 1,000

Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in Aberdeen City a year, against 57 across Scotland.

TransportMore

3.0/ 10

Limited: 0 stations within a mile, 46 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

57 schools in Aberdeen. None has a published inspection grade.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Aberdeen differs most from the national average.

01
A big private rental marketPositive
20.9% of households rent privately, against 12.9% across Scotland. Tenant demand is established here.
02
A student area
14.9% of adults are full-time students, against 8.8% across Scotland. Expect HMO demand and term-time turnover.
03
A young populationPositive
25.2% of residents are aged 20 to 34 (the peak renting age), against 19% across Scotland.

Questions

Aberdeen FAQs

Is Aberdeen a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 6.2 out of 10 on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020, where 10 is the least deprived in Scotland. Transport connectivity scores 3.0 out of 10 (limited).

Is Aberdeen safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Police Scotland publishes crime by council area only. Aberdeen City recorded 67 crimes per 1,000 residents in 2025-26, against 57 across Scotland.

Who lives in Aberdeen?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 20–24, at 9.1% of residents. 52.8% of households own their home. The most common property type is purpose-built flat (50.2%).

Which council covers Aberdeen?

The local authority for Aberdeen is Aberdeen City.

Aberdeen comes under Aberdeen City in Scotland. Council tax, planning applications and bin collections are handled there.

How well connected is Aberdeen?

Connectivity scores 3.0 out of 10.

There are 46 bus stops within 800m and 0 stations and tram stops within a mile, scoring 3.0 out of 10 (limited). The nearest station is Aberdeen Rail Station, 1.2 miles away.

Sources: Scotland's Census 2022 (NRS); ONS mid-year population estimates; police recorded crime; the English, Welsh and Scottish indices of deprivation; ONS small area income estimates; ONS private rents; DfE, Welsh and Scottish school registers and Ofsted; DfT NaPTAN; ORR estimates of station usage. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.

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